Majyuouu (King of Demons)/Rendering Ranger R2 (Super Famicom)

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Rev1
Posts: 1777
Joined: December 31st, 1969, 7:00 pm

Majyuouu (King of Demons)/Rendering Ranger R2 (Super Famicom)

Postby Rev1 » March 9th, 2015, 6:02 pm

So I have recently been importing Super Famicom games to play on my U.S. SNES. Two of the games that I bought were Majyuouu and Rendering Ranger R2 for the SFC. Both games have minimal language barrier (RRR2 has zero, it's all in English) and I've had a lot of fun with these two titles when I played (and beat) both this weekend. I know that both of these titles are fairly well known to SNES importers because I heard about them all over the place when I was looking up titles to import for the console.

Majyuouu (King of Demons) is an action game featuring a guy with a gun who is out to rescue his wife and daughter from demons. The game's graphics are fairly good, although the sprites of the character are quite small. The main twist for the game is that you have the ability to transform into one of three demon classes upon completing a stage, which you can choose (or ignore) for added abilities and strength on future levels. At the end of each stage you are given the option to switch to another one of the three demon classes and if you stay the same class, after 3 levels you will be powered up to their ultimate form. If you change your class on every stage, on the final level you will get his ultimate form which looks like a fallen angel and is ungodly strong. The game has 6-7 stages and is fairly easy because of the unlimited continues. The only stage that gave me any kind of difficulty was Stage 4, the ice level, as I choose the green crystal on this stage and my character he didn't have the tools to do well in the stage. Still, the game was fairly fun although the gameplay seemed a bit stiff at times. You have an assortment of moves at your disposal, such as double jumps, charge shots, and jump kicks, which are different for every demon you choose.

I beat the game in about an hour and I had a fairly good time with it. The graphics are good but not amazing, and your character is always a bit stiff, regardless of what demon form you choose. Also, the green demon is terrible and his laser shot is nearly worthless. Plus, the stages aren't always that interesting and can feel a bit bland. Overall, the game was a little overrated, but fun nonetheless.

B-

Rendering Ranger R2 is another action game, except this time it is similar to games such as Contra and Turrican. You control a guy with a gun, with four different weapon types and a unique bombs that work with each of the weapon types. You also will see various powerups throughout the level which will allow you to power up your weapons, increase your life (I think you get like 4-5 hits before you lose a stock), get shields, extra guys, or options. The game is 9 stages long and has a password system (thank god). If this game didn't have the password feature you'd be in for one hell of a frustrating experience since you get no continues and the difficulty can be ridiculous by stage 6-7.

Out of the 9 stages, you're only playing about 4 stages as a soldier, with the rest being shmup stages. On these stages, you still have the 4 weapon types but you can also get options, similar to any other shmup. These stages can be drastically harder, especially Level 8, which is by far the hardest stage in the game. The enemies swarm you from both sides, you are now hurt for running into the stage, but thankfully you can now turn left or right by tapping the jump button. The game also has a unique bomb system. Every life you get three full bombs, once you use one, a meter starts filling up on the bottom of the screen and when it becomes full, you get your bomb back again.

The game is absolutely gorgeous, for an SNES title, and has by far the most action I've ever seen on a SNES screen. Best of all, there are zero slowdowns and the action is immense. There are absolutely huge boss fights that take up a large portion of the screen and the soundtrack is awesome. I've heard that this game looks like it was running on the Saturn, and they're right. The developers knew what they were doing on this game.

Still, the game isn't AAA, as some of the difficulty can shift drastically, and the stage designs can be a bit confusing sometimes (especially on one or two soldier levels), but I had a great time with this one. With how rare this game was, I wasn't too sure on its quality, but it really blew me away (and my wallet). Great game.

A



JWK1
Posts: 904
Joined: December 31st, 1969, 7:00 pm

Majyuouu (King of Demons)/Rendering Ranger R2 (Super Famicom)

Postby JWK1 » March 12th, 2015, 5:22 pm

Great write ups, Rev. I read about King of Demons about 3 years ago and knew I had to play it when it was described as "Castlevania with guns." It's a great little game. I know you weren't blown away by the graphics but I thought they served the games horror themes quite well. It's also a little strange to see the SNES running such small sprites. It was usually the Genesis that had dinky character sprites to ensure not too much "mega power!" went into the visuals. The game still looks good though. I play a translated rom and again, you're not missing much by playing the Japanese version. You die and spirit versions of your wife and daughter enable you to continue on. I'm sure got at least that much! Lol

R2 is a complete technical marvel on the SNES. Like many late SNES games, it looks like a PS1 game. It's really fun to boot. I understand it was made by the guy who created turrican and it shows. Fun stuff. Great reviews.

Rev1
Posts: 1777
Joined: December 31st, 1969, 7:00 pm

Majyuouu (King of Demons)/Rendering Ranger R2 (Super Famicom)

Postby Rev1 » March 13th, 2015, 2:54 pm

Thanks man I really appreciate your comments. I'm thinking of playing the game through I few more times to see what the powered up final forms are for the other demons. I'm glad I checked a guide though because the first time I played I didn't wait for the crystals to change color so I thought the game only had I've demon form. Lol.


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